


aftermath

by orphan_account



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-30
Updated: 2013-04-30
Packaged: 2017-12-09 23:28:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/779208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>kushina, minato, and kakashi in the aftermath of the kannabi bridge mission.</p>
            </blockquote>





	aftermath

There were a few things Kakashi expected once what was left of Team Minato returned to the village. He expected to have to deal with a very irate Uchiha clan once they found out he’d had the Sharingan implanted. He halfway expected Mikoto to come around and yell at him for letting her precious little cousin die, which was almost more frightening. (She may have retired from active duty, but she was still fearsome when she got going.) He expected some sort of formal reprimand for almost failing the mission when he went after Rin. He expected the kind of whispers that had followed his father to follow him, as he had followed in his father’s footsteps.

He didn’t expect Kushina to barge into his apartment the night he got back. Nor did he expect her to throw him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “K-Kushina-san! What are you doing?!”

“You’re staying with me and Minato tonight,” she said, leaping out of his apartment window. “No arguments!”

She chattered all the way to the small apartment she shared with her fiancee, much to Kakashi’s bewilderment. Even after they’d settled in and he’d had hot soup forced down his throat, Kushina talked at him like it was the most natural thing in the world. All he could do was stare at her. When Minato came home, he toed off his sandals and joined in the conversation without missing a beat.

“Why aren’t you angry?” Kakashi interrupted after a few more moments of watching the pair.

Minato frowned, a wrinkle creasing the space between his eyebrows. “Why would we be angry?”

One of Kakashi’s hands came up to gently touch the bandages that covered Obito’s eye. It still throbbed painfully in time with his heartbeat. “I was going to leave Rin and Obito behind. It was my first mission as a commander and I got one of my team killed.” His voice was flat. Dead. Like he felt. “I abandoned the mission for my teammates.”

“Oh, Kakashi.” Kushina’s arms pulled him into a hug. Almost all his muscles clenched in protest. “You went back for her in the end. You saved Rin’s life and more besides.”

Minato’s hand landed on his back, gentle yet solid enough to be anchoring. It reminded Kakashi of his father, before he had changed. Against his better judgement, he felt himself relaxing. “One of the hardest lessons to learn as a commander is that sometimes people under your command die. It happens much more often in times of war.” He sighed heavily, sounding more tired than Kakashi had ever heard him before. “You do everything you can to prevent it, but sometimes that doesn’t work. But you can’t let yourself wallow in guilt over every death. Remember him, but don’t lose yourself in grief, Kakashi.”

Hesitantly, Kakashi lifted his arms to curl around Kushina. She was warm and comforting, even if her hair tickled his face. “It’s okay, Kakashi. We’re here for you,” she murmured quietly, stroking his hair.

He sniffled in return. “I…” It felt like his throat was closing over feelings he couldn’t put into words. He trembled and tried to think of something to say. It felt like he had to say  _something_. “I got dust in my eye,” he said finally.

Just as he was about to kick himself for saying something so pathetic, Minato laughed. It was a quiet, choked sound. So unlike his usual laugh.

Kakashi’s chest ached, his eyes burned, and despite his teacher’s words, his guilt still covered him like a heavy blanket he couldn’t shrug off. But in that moment, with Kushina’s arms around him, and Minato’s hand rubbing soothing circles in his back, he felt safe. For a moment—just a moment, he told himself, then he’d back off—he let himself revel in it.


End file.
